So.....Kat had her staging appointment today at the cancer clinic. By some near miracle, she is STILL only at a stage one, despite all the delays, the second surgery, the burst tumor that spilled cancer cells into her abdomen....stage one!! Thank you faithful prayer warriors. God is hearing and answering.
She still has a couple of infections from her last hospital stay that must be fully cleared up by the time her chemo is to start next week, so she isn't out of the woods yet and she has some other pain she should not be having so many weeks post surgery, so will have tests early next week to determine their origin and cause.
It is too early by far to back off on the intercessory prayers, but the news today is amazingly encouraging. It is starting at the best end of the bad, aggressive cancer scale. I am praying she will be able to start her chemo on time, in about ten days or so. The chemo should take care of those spilled cancer cells! AMEN!!
Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. For today, things are not as dark and scary as this limbo time leading up to getting the results has been. There will be much more to endure of course, but this good news was so unexpected, why should we not hope for even more of it? Cancer/chemo is certainly a "one day at a time" experience and for today we have great hope!
Last night Kat and I were giggling about the upcoming hair loss and how cute she is going to look with her bald head. I hope she will be free to wear it proudly. It proclaims that she is surviving one of the worst diseases life can throw at anyone.
God bless Kat and God bless ALL OF YOU WHO ARE PRAYING for this amazing woman.
Friday, May 31, 2019
The Mercies of the Day!
—the temperature today is about ten degrees lower than yesterday
—several friends have called for brief chats and that has ensured my taking breaks between household chores
—I have a refrigerator full of all ready cooked food so will not have to add cooking onto my list today
—despite a late start I have actually accomplished something today: the bathroom and kitchen are completely cleaned and I may just have sufficient mobility to clean two of the upstairs bedrooms after lunch
—my husband told me this morning that he will clean own his office this weekend
—my husband phoned me from his conference to let me know he has been invited to lead a weekend conference in Cypress Hills the last weekend of August. My response: “Jolly good! The very thing we’re looking for!” (fans of the old Goon Show will understand that reference) If my husband is going to remain here and feels part of his new ministry is to include presenting seminars and conferences, it makes no sense to turn down his first offer! I am also invited and if I go, I will be able to stay in the lovely little lodge there.
—last evening’s forest fire smoke has dissipated here and I pray Edmonton will be spared a second day of dense smoke that had the city street lights coming on by early afternoon yesterday
All these wonderful blessings and it is only noon. Noon!! Time to eat! (another blessing)
———————————————————————-
—enjoyed a fresh roast beef sandwich for lunch, beef being only an occasional treat for us
—cleaned two bedrooms and hallways and stairwell. Could do the living room and dining room and be completely finished, but am obeying the instruction of a friend who warned me to pace myself. Yay!
—my hip and my thigh muscles feel pretty good, so must rest them in the proper position to avoid more muscle stress and pain. Thank you Lord!
—I have time now for a nap before my husband gets home!
—several friends have called for brief chats and that has ensured my taking breaks between household chores
—I have a refrigerator full of all ready cooked food so will not have to add cooking onto my list today
—despite a late start I have actually accomplished something today: the bathroom and kitchen are completely cleaned and I may just have sufficient mobility to clean two of the upstairs bedrooms after lunch
—my husband told me this morning that he will clean own his office this weekend
—my husband phoned me from his conference to let me know he has been invited to lead a weekend conference in Cypress Hills the last weekend of August. My response: “Jolly good! The very thing we’re looking for!” (fans of the old Goon Show will understand that reference) If my husband is going to remain here and feels part of his new ministry is to include presenting seminars and conferences, it makes no sense to turn down his first offer! I am also invited and if I go, I will be able to stay in the lovely little lodge there.
—last evening’s forest fire smoke has dissipated here and I pray Edmonton will be spared a second day of dense smoke that had the city street lights coming on by early afternoon yesterday
All these wonderful blessings and it is only noon. Noon!! Time to eat! (another blessing)
———————————————————————-
—enjoyed a fresh roast beef sandwich for lunch, beef being only an occasional treat for us
—cleaned two bedrooms and hallways and stairwell. Could do the living room and dining room and be completely finished, but am obeying the instruction of a friend who warned me to pace myself. Yay!
—my hip and my thigh muscles feel pretty good, so must rest them in the proper position to avoid more muscle stress and pain. Thank you Lord!
—I have time now for a nap before my husband gets home!
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Smoke Gets In Our Eyes....and Everywhere Else As Well!!
When we left for the choir windup party this evening, it was still +33C outside with very little breeze. When we left the party to come home the wind had come up and the start of what has become a rather dense smoky haze has turned the setting sun into a huge glowing red ball. There has been a strong north west wind blowing dust and smoke about for the past couple of hours, but I absolutely have to leave the windows open as long as the smell of forest fire smoke is not too strong, so this suite can cool down. Thankful now that I have not been able to dust the furniture over the past couple of days because the dust blowing in through the windows this evening would erase every newly clean surface with a thick layer of the stuff. I will have to include washing out the inside window sills as part of my cleaning regime tomorrow. Yuck!! It is DIRT CITY around here!!!
The party was a lot of fun. We are both glad we took the time to quit pampering our tired selves with yet another evening spent at home, to get out and socialize with my new choir friends. The food was good and the fellowship even better. As stiff as my hip is after nearly 3 hours of sitting on chairs, it seems to be taking less time to get mobile again afterward and with less pain now that I have learned to talk my muscles into relaxing before taking the first step away from the chair, instead of standing up and moving quickly and painfully. A very nice evening was had by all.
Kat continues to give us huge laughs with her friendly and fun personality that has not caved into the discouragement I am sure she feels inside sometimes. Two nights ago her home surveillance system alerted her just after midnight that there was an intruder on the property. While her roommate called the police, Kat realized the intruder had broken into her car and was riffling through the items in the glove compartment. Kat has been victimized in many ways more times than enough in her life, and she apparently just "lost it" emotionally. She raced outside to the driveway in her nightgown, screaming and cursing at the top of her lungs and terrified the break in artist into jumping out of the car and racing off down the street. When the police came they watched the surveillance footage and nearly killed themselves laughing at her performance. When she had to call them again 2 hours later to remove a fellow who had entered her back yard, headlamp glowing, to go through her personal garbage and compost bins, they were most disappointed that she had done the right thing and stayed inside the house until they could come and arrest him for trespassing. Oh, and then she showed up at book club last night, even though she felt unwell, because there was an accident with the electrical transformer behind her house and hers was the only house on the street with no power! Aiiii Yiiii..... Such is The Life of Kat! I find The Life of Pi far less interesting since meeting Kat, hahahahaha.
We have a new woman attending the book club now. In fact she led our session this week. It is so wonderful to see the women in the group surrounding her with the same love and care and welcome that they gave me last year when I began attending. What a healing group they are to wounded newcomers!
My husband is struggling tonight with an upset stomach. I don't think he is ill. Rather, I suspect it is because he agreed to attend the annual Clergy Day for the diocese tomorrow; his first meeting with all his colleagues since leaving his position last December. If he is still feeling miserable at bedtime I will suggest this possibility and see what he says. Hmmmmm....very suspicious timing when he has been feeling so fantastic for the past couple of weeks and hasn't had to take a Zantac for his stomach in at least that long....stress...what a bummer of a thing!
My reasons for wanting him to attend the day long conference is not only for his sake but, selfishly, for my own sake as well. This suite is SO covered in dust and cotton sock lint due to my having to abandon most of the cleaning for the past 2 weeks, that I really want the day alone to putter about and get started on removing all the dust and lint. If he is here he will be hovering and fussing all day, bless his caring heart, worrying that I may injure my hip even more by doing what needs to be done! I love that he cares, but I need to get some exercise and having the luxury of a whole day alone to take my time with the cleaning will contribute far less to another injury than racing about trying to accomplish things too quickly in order to avoid the Inquisition about how the activity is effecting me! hahahaha
So far no smoky odors coming in from outside. Not sure how long that will last, but I will try going to bed with the windows open in hope that there will be no allergy inducing smell sneaking in from outside at 3am. I don't know if this smoke is coming from the huge fire in northern Alberta or if it is the product of some small fires now burning in northern Saskatchewan. Either way it means there are people and animals being threatened by flames and smoke all ready when it is still only May. What is it going to be like in August when I usually have to spend a couple of weeks suffering inside this hot suite because the strong smoky smell means having to keep the windows closed all day?! YIKES!
The party was a lot of fun. We are both glad we took the time to quit pampering our tired selves with yet another evening spent at home, to get out and socialize with my new choir friends. The food was good and the fellowship even better. As stiff as my hip is after nearly 3 hours of sitting on chairs, it seems to be taking less time to get mobile again afterward and with less pain now that I have learned to talk my muscles into relaxing before taking the first step away from the chair, instead of standing up and moving quickly and painfully. A very nice evening was had by all.
Kat continues to give us huge laughs with her friendly and fun personality that has not caved into the discouragement I am sure she feels inside sometimes. Two nights ago her home surveillance system alerted her just after midnight that there was an intruder on the property. While her roommate called the police, Kat realized the intruder had broken into her car and was riffling through the items in the glove compartment. Kat has been victimized in many ways more times than enough in her life, and she apparently just "lost it" emotionally. She raced outside to the driveway in her nightgown, screaming and cursing at the top of her lungs and terrified the break in artist into jumping out of the car and racing off down the street. When the police came they watched the surveillance footage and nearly killed themselves laughing at her performance. When she had to call them again 2 hours later to remove a fellow who had entered her back yard, headlamp glowing, to go through her personal garbage and compost bins, they were most disappointed that she had done the right thing and stayed inside the house until they could come and arrest him for trespassing. Oh, and then she showed up at book club last night, even though she felt unwell, because there was an accident with the electrical transformer behind her house and hers was the only house on the street with no power! Aiiii Yiiii..... Such is The Life of Kat! I find The Life of Pi far less interesting since meeting Kat, hahahahaha.
We have a new woman attending the book club now. In fact she led our session this week. It is so wonderful to see the women in the group surrounding her with the same love and care and welcome that they gave me last year when I began attending. What a healing group they are to wounded newcomers!
My husband is struggling tonight with an upset stomach. I don't think he is ill. Rather, I suspect it is because he agreed to attend the annual Clergy Day for the diocese tomorrow; his first meeting with all his colleagues since leaving his position last December. If he is still feeling miserable at bedtime I will suggest this possibility and see what he says. Hmmmmm....very suspicious timing when he has been feeling so fantastic for the past couple of weeks and hasn't had to take a Zantac for his stomach in at least that long....stress...what a bummer of a thing!
My reasons for wanting him to attend the day long conference is not only for his sake but, selfishly, for my own sake as well. This suite is SO covered in dust and cotton sock lint due to my having to abandon most of the cleaning for the past 2 weeks, that I really want the day alone to putter about and get started on removing all the dust and lint. If he is here he will be hovering and fussing all day, bless his caring heart, worrying that I may injure my hip even more by doing what needs to be done! I love that he cares, but I need to get some exercise and having the luxury of a whole day alone to take my time with the cleaning will contribute far less to another injury than racing about trying to accomplish things too quickly in order to avoid the Inquisition about how the activity is effecting me! hahahaha
So far no smoky odors coming in from outside. Not sure how long that will last, but I will try going to bed with the windows open in hope that there will be no allergy inducing smell sneaking in from outside at 3am. I don't know if this smoke is coming from the huge fire in northern Alberta or if it is the product of some small fires now burning in northern Saskatchewan. Either way it means there are people and animals being threatened by flames and smoke all ready when it is still only May. What is it going to be like in August when I usually have to spend a couple of weeks suffering inside this hot suite because the strong smoky smell means having to keep the windows closed all day?! YIKES!
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
The Local Menagerie
I still miss the songbirds that migrated through one of our former towns of residence, but I am starting to appreciate and enjoy all the wildlife right here on my own complex lawns.
For the past week there have been baby bunnies running about all over the place! They are SO cute!!!! It is scary starting up our vehicle to back out of our parking space as there have been so many of them hiding underneath, but we do a careful check before starting our car and so far have managed to avoid an accident.
This morning we had a real treat. Two families of geese showed up with their goslings! One pair had 9 wee birdie babes and the other pair had 6 of them. We are not sure what they were all doing over here, so far from the lake and the lovely green, sprinkler dampened lawns across the street where they usually hang out under the shady trees, but we certainly enjoyed seeing them all out there snapping the heads of the dandelions and munching away quite happily. When we stepped outside on our porch for a better view, the closest parents gathered up their brood and headed elsewhere. The babies are just large enough now to be starting to lose their fuzzy newborn feathers, but they are still following their parents closely. I worry about them crossing the busy street in front of our house, but so far this season there have been no obvious fatalities. The cars are pretty good about stopping for them. Yesterday as I was riding the bus home a teensy tiny runaway gosling went streaking all alone across all 5 lanes of traffic but all the cars came to a grinding halt to avoid hitting it, thank goodness. My heart was in my mouth.
There have been some starling parents leading their wee ones across the back lawn the past couple of days as well. O my, those are tiny things when they are only a few weeks old. Hopefully the bigger crows will not eat them!
Apparently Regina has seen a rise in gopher numbers within the city limits but at the moment there is an almost zero mosquito egg count. YAY! LOOOOOONG MAY THAT LAST! Mind you, if it is that dry, I suppose it will only be a matter of time before we start finding immigrant tse-tse flies! hahaha Hey, it is ALMOST that dry here this year! hahaha I will be on the lookout for gophers tunneling under our front step. It seems to attract at least one or two each summer.
I am going to start taking more time to enjoy the birds and rabbits around here. It is as close to the wildlife as I am likely to get this year.
For the past week there have been baby bunnies running about all over the place! They are SO cute!!!! It is scary starting up our vehicle to back out of our parking space as there have been so many of them hiding underneath, but we do a careful check before starting our car and so far have managed to avoid an accident.
This morning we had a real treat. Two families of geese showed up with their goslings! One pair had 9 wee birdie babes and the other pair had 6 of them. We are not sure what they were all doing over here, so far from the lake and the lovely green, sprinkler dampened lawns across the street where they usually hang out under the shady trees, but we certainly enjoyed seeing them all out there snapping the heads of the dandelions and munching away quite happily. When we stepped outside on our porch for a better view, the closest parents gathered up their brood and headed elsewhere. The babies are just large enough now to be starting to lose their fuzzy newborn feathers, but they are still following their parents closely. I worry about them crossing the busy street in front of our house, but so far this season there have been no obvious fatalities. The cars are pretty good about stopping for them. Yesterday as I was riding the bus home a teensy tiny runaway gosling went streaking all alone across all 5 lanes of traffic but all the cars came to a grinding halt to avoid hitting it, thank goodness. My heart was in my mouth.
There have been some starling parents leading their wee ones across the back lawn the past couple of days as well. O my, those are tiny things when they are only a few weeks old. Hopefully the bigger crows will not eat them!
Apparently Regina has seen a rise in gopher numbers within the city limits but at the moment there is an almost zero mosquito egg count. YAY! LOOOOOONG MAY THAT LAST! Mind you, if it is that dry, I suppose it will only be a matter of time before we start finding immigrant tse-tse flies! hahaha Hey, it is ALMOST that dry here this year! hahaha I will be on the lookout for gophers tunneling under our front step. It seems to attract at least one or two each summer.
I am going to start taking more time to enjoy the birds and rabbits around here. It is as close to the wildlife as I am likely to get this year.
Wow, I’m So Disappointed!
I just received a call from the clinic. My doctor is off with an illness today. The earliest I can get in now is next Tuesday afternoon, sigh..... I admit to feeling a tad weepy, BUT, no tears have been shed. I will “buck up old chicken” and carry right along as I have been. Such is life, right? I keep thinking of how long Val has been enduring hip agony and for how long, so that keeps me from feeling too sorry for myself!
A BC friend mailed me a package that is scheduled to arrive today. I don’t know what is in it, but what a perfect day for such a blessing to come to my door. Thank you friend.
Happy news is that by last evening both Kat and Val had conquered the pain that felled them earlier. Thank you Lord, and please continue to protect them. Amen! More intercession and fasting for them is in order today.
So, I will prepare a dessert for the choir party tomorrow evening, get a roast into the oven for tonight’s dinner before the temperature gets any hotter on its way to our daytime high of +30C, set up some tv shows to record later this week, drive out for a few groceries and get on with living instead of sitting here brooding about my hip pain.
AND there’s that parcel coming in the mail for me. AND I can still walk. It is a good day.
Yup, it truly is.
There we go, all better now.
A BC friend mailed me a package that is scheduled to arrive today. I don’t know what is in it, but what a perfect day for such a blessing to come to my door. Thank you friend.
Happy news is that by last evening both Kat and Val had conquered the pain that felled them earlier. Thank you Lord, and please continue to protect them. Amen! More intercession and fasting for them is in order today.
So, I will prepare a dessert for the choir party tomorrow evening, get a roast into the oven for tonight’s dinner before the temperature gets any hotter on its way to our daytime high of +30C, set up some tv shows to record later this week, drive out for a few groceries and get on with living instead of sitting here brooding about my hip pain.
AND there’s that parcel coming in the mail for me. AND I can still walk. It is a good day.
Yup, it truly is.
There we go, all better now.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Bringin' Out The Big Spiritual Guns!!
Today after my excellent hair appointment, a salad lunch at Zam's, some window shopping, I took the long way around home on the bus in order to be let off right in front of my front door. During that ride I had a lot of time to think and wow....I thought a lot about the problems so many of my friends are experiencing, particularly with their health.
Of course, right at the present top o' the list are Kat and Val. No wonder they were on my mind. When I arrived home I found a detailed email of the disaster of their day yesterday that included 9 hours in the emergency for Kat, with her coming away with some very heavy duty drugs to keep her health stable until she goes to the cancer clinic for her post surgical results at the end of this week, plus a day of screaming in pain for Val from her deteriorating hip joints. Kat spent hours trying to get the screaming out of her head, along with the fact that there is nothing anyone can do to help Val except try to get her more and more drugs to cope while she awaits a surgery that seems unlikely to ever happen at this point. Despair is descending on them both.
Coupled with some other upsetting news from other friends that arrived just before I left for my time away, I felt like I was going to absolutely lose it from all the depressing news. Kat's and Val's lives these days, as I read their almost daily reports, are like reading from the Book of Job and I can't stand to see either of them going through so much pain with so little substantially healing help.
So, I decided it is time to bring out the spiritual big guns, the tried and true Fasting and Prayer "Combo"!! By prayer I mean INTERCESSARY prayer of the sort that involves every part of me. It means praying in a way that is almost frightening to the onlooker and that takes a huge toll on my energy, because it will consume several hours each day until I feel God has given me permission to stop. It means making a few days of creative fasting work around the necessary dietary items for treating my diabetes. All of you out there who are also "gifted" (????) with intercessory prayer know what I am talking about. It has been some time since I have felt any sort of leading to be this intense in my prayers for others, but wow, it is past time for Kat and Val. I don't really understand why this sort of prayer comes to me or is necessary, but apparently it is and based on past experiences, I know better than to ignore the promptings to get with the programme. I spent some time this afternoon getting started. Here's to tomorrow morning's session. Lord, in your mercy hear my prayer...and the prayers of all who are praying for these two godly and severely tormented sisters. There are many! Amen!
I had a nap later in the afternoon and feel quite recovered. My hip is no worse for wear after my longer than usual trek around the Cornwall Center and area, the long bus ride and some home chores. For that I am extremely grateful.
My husband enjoyed his lections group early this morning and had a wonderful time over lunch with a former colleague from work. I am so happy for him to be making this many friends for the first time in a decade. We are going out for dinner with one of them next week and I am so looking forward to that. She is a sweetie!
My husband and I just took a look through the latest copy of the local Prairie Dog newspaper to see which city restaurants were voted as The Best in various categories. hahaha Obviously he and I didn't vote. hahahaha However, we got some clues as to some newer places we would enjoy trying sometime. It was fun doing that together and commenting on the choices based on our own experiences at those places.
Well, speaking of eating, I supposed it is time to get started making some dinner! I was going to cook a roast this afternoon and it is thawed in the refrigerator, but I got so wrapped up in the other things going on this afternoon I forgot to put it into the oven. Guess I will cook it tomorrow morning before my doctor's appointment. Sigh...guess it wasn't all that important or I would have remembered....I think.....?...hohoho....
Of course, right at the present top o' the list are Kat and Val. No wonder they were on my mind. When I arrived home I found a detailed email of the disaster of their day yesterday that included 9 hours in the emergency for Kat, with her coming away with some very heavy duty drugs to keep her health stable until she goes to the cancer clinic for her post surgical results at the end of this week, plus a day of screaming in pain for Val from her deteriorating hip joints. Kat spent hours trying to get the screaming out of her head, along with the fact that there is nothing anyone can do to help Val except try to get her more and more drugs to cope while she awaits a surgery that seems unlikely to ever happen at this point. Despair is descending on them both.
Coupled with some other upsetting news from other friends that arrived just before I left for my time away, I felt like I was going to absolutely lose it from all the depressing news. Kat's and Val's lives these days, as I read their almost daily reports, are like reading from the Book of Job and I can't stand to see either of them going through so much pain with so little substantially healing help.
So, I decided it is time to bring out the spiritual big guns, the tried and true Fasting and Prayer "Combo"!! By prayer I mean INTERCESSARY prayer of the sort that involves every part of me. It means praying in a way that is almost frightening to the onlooker and that takes a huge toll on my energy, because it will consume several hours each day until I feel God has given me permission to stop. It means making a few days of creative fasting work around the necessary dietary items for treating my diabetes. All of you out there who are also "gifted" (????) with intercessory prayer know what I am talking about. It has been some time since I have felt any sort of leading to be this intense in my prayers for others, but wow, it is past time for Kat and Val. I don't really understand why this sort of prayer comes to me or is necessary, but apparently it is and based on past experiences, I know better than to ignore the promptings to get with the programme. I spent some time this afternoon getting started. Here's to tomorrow morning's session. Lord, in your mercy hear my prayer...and the prayers of all who are praying for these two godly and severely tormented sisters. There are many! Amen!
I had a nap later in the afternoon and feel quite recovered. My hip is no worse for wear after my longer than usual trek around the Cornwall Center and area, the long bus ride and some home chores. For that I am extremely grateful.
My husband enjoyed his lections group early this morning and had a wonderful time over lunch with a former colleague from work. I am so happy for him to be making this many friends for the first time in a decade. We are going out for dinner with one of them next week and I am so looking forward to that. She is a sweetie!
My husband and I just took a look through the latest copy of the local Prairie Dog newspaper to see which city restaurants were voted as The Best in various categories. hahaha Obviously he and I didn't vote. hahahaha However, we got some clues as to some newer places we would enjoy trying sometime. It was fun doing that together and commenting on the choices based on our own experiences at those places.
Well, speaking of eating, I supposed it is time to get started making some dinner! I was going to cook a roast this afternoon and it is thawed in the refrigerator, but I got so wrapped up in the other things going on this afternoon I forgot to put it into the oven. Guess I will cook it tomorrow morning before my doctor's appointment. Sigh...guess it wasn't all that important or I would have remembered....I think.....?...hohoho....
Monday, May 27, 2019
Hey, Who ARE Those Old Hippies????
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shifting
That is what the pain in my leg is doing. Today the muscles on my backside are not nearly as sore as they have been for the past week, but there has been no change for the better along the line of fracture....2 more days until I get my requisition and HOPEFULLY the x-ray taken as well. Then it is a waiting game until the results land at my doctor's office. I am praying that between the x-ray tech and my doctor someone will figure out what is going on. To me it makes far more sense to get the x-ray taken at the hospital, have the original surgeon compare it with my last set of x-rays taken in 2016 and let him, the fellow who performed the original surgery see it right away. But then, I am not that particular, overly busy and stressed surgeon with a nearly 2 year waiting list for his patients awaiting non-emergency surgeries. I am hoping that even with the absence of access to the online patient files that is the biggest problem at the clinic where my doctor practises, she will be able to access my last x-rays to do her own comparison and then make the proper call as to whether or not I need to go back to the surgeon. Prayers about this whole confusing procedure would be most appreciated. Thank you so much.
SO, enough about that!!
Today has been a rather good day, all things considered. I got to the grocery store, yes friend I took my cane and cell phone, and arrived in time to get 6 loaves of my favourite seed bread before it sold out for the rest of the day. YAY!! I spent the next two meals enjoying a slice or two of it after not having had it for a couple of weeks or more. hahaha Who knew I would ever find a type of bread to get excited about, as bread has not been much of an attraction for me over the past few years.
The rest of the day was a good balance of rest and wobbling around the suite, up and down the stairs a few times as my hip feels best when doing stairs, chatting with my husband and completing a novel I have particularly enjoyed by the author of Secret Sister, Shilpi Somaya Gowda. This novel is The Golden Son and I enjoyed it as well. She is very talented at writing realistically about the emotional reactions of her characters and I enjoy that. If I enjoy the characters then some of the more obvious slip ups in the story line, don't bother me. There weren't many in this book though and she admitted to them in the Afterword and explained her reasoning. Interesting story of two cultures at war across the ocean between them.
I can hardly wait to get my hair cut tomorrow. I look like The Shaggy Dog! hahaha O my....and the longer my hair gets the fatter my face looks. Yikes! My resemblance to my Irish grandfather, with his broad face, is becoming more pronounced as I age. Not being able to get much exercise for the past month is not helping. I haven't gained any weight but I feel puffy all over...my husband says I don't look puffy, but still, I feel that way.
Realized today how ready I am for book club and church choir to be on seasonal break. In this warm weather I am not particularly motivated to want to sing anthems or listen to a novel or Bible study discussion. They keep me happy and busy during the dreary, cold winter months and I want to spend the spring and summer doing other things. No, I don't know why.
42 hours left before I go to the doctor. YAY!! 42 and counting......
SO, enough about that!!
Today has been a rather good day, all things considered. I got to the grocery store, yes friend I took my cane and cell phone, and arrived in time to get 6 loaves of my favourite seed bread before it sold out for the rest of the day. YAY!! I spent the next two meals enjoying a slice or two of it after not having had it for a couple of weeks or more. hahaha Who knew I would ever find a type of bread to get excited about, as bread has not been much of an attraction for me over the past few years.
The rest of the day was a good balance of rest and wobbling around the suite, up and down the stairs a few times as my hip feels best when doing stairs, chatting with my husband and completing a novel I have particularly enjoyed by the author of Secret Sister, Shilpi Somaya Gowda. This novel is The Golden Son and I enjoyed it as well. She is very talented at writing realistically about the emotional reactions of her characters and I enjoy that. If I enjoy the characters then some of the more obvious slip ups in the story line, don't bother me. There weren't many in this book though and she admitted to them in the Afterword and explained her reasoning. Interesting story of two cultures at war across the ocean between them.
I can hardly wait to get my hair cut tomorrow. I look like The Shaggy Dog! hahaha O my....and the longer my hair gets the fatter my face looks. Yikes! My resemblance to my Irish grandfather, with his broad face, is becoming more pronounced as I age. Not being able to get much exercise for the past month is not helping. I haven't gained any weight but I feel puffy all over...my husband says I don't look puffy, but still, I feel that way.
Realized today how ready I am for book club and church choir to be on seasonal break. In this warm weather I am not particularly motivated to want to sing anthems or listen to a novel or Bible study discussion. They keep me happy and busy during the dreary, cold winter months and I want to spend the spring and summer doing other things. No, I don't know why.
42 hours left before I go to the doctor. YAY!! 42 and counting......
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Sundays Are Happily Busy!
I wish I had the energy to make every day like this one! It was busy and fun and completely exhausting in happy ways.
My husband did a wonderful presentation in his Adult Sunday School class on prayer in the Psalms. We talked about prayers of confession (confession meaning agreeing with God on our need for repentence and agreeing with him on his forgiveness of us) and we talked about how we can learn different postures of prayer than simply folding our hands and closing our eyes (kneeling, prostrating ourselves, lifting hands, looking upward). I am looking forward to his last two classes of the term and wondering what nifty new things I am going to learn in each of them.
The minister's sermon really challenged us to take better advantage of our opportunities to grow relationships with our Muslim friends and we felt sad all over again that the only Muslim friends we had here moved to Vancouver!
After the service there was a lunch to fundraise for the seminary in Lebanon...the only middle Eastern country that allows Muslims who have converted, to study Christianity. We ate a lunch of incredibly delicious lentil soup, pitas and fresh fruit while we watched the president of that seminary via video link. It was great to be able to ask him questions about the school, its student body and about his country. Several members of our church are going there in a couple of weeks to visit the seminary and learn more about Lebanon. Wish my husband and I were going to be among them.
When we got home my husband got a call from the younger brother of our Muslim friends who moved to Vancouver. He wanted to come over and also bring his wife to visit with me while he and my husband worked on a plan for a new business he is building. We had the most lovely time together talking and laughing. As it is Ramadan for another 10 days or so, we didn't even have to make tea or snacks for our guests...an odd feeling for me....hahaha. We exchanged contact information and will be in touch again sometime in the next few weeks. YAY!! They brought me the most beautiful orchid. NOW IF I CAN JUST NOT KILL THE POOR THING! It is a lovely white orchid with 6 blooms and I am so impressed to have such a gorgeous plant in my home. I have to give it 3 ice cubes once a week and other than that just leave the poor thing alone in the proper light conditions! Should be easy peasy....hey, I have had my small succulent for a full year and it is still growing and healthy looking, AND I have not killed the tomato plant yet. Maybe I am getting better with this whole living plant thing! Stranger things have happened....I think....
My parents had a lovely Muslim man as their cab driver on their errands yesterday. My father is even more "not shy" than I am and asked him many questions about Ramadan and its practises and they talked about how Christians and Muslims are starting to have more dialogue in Canada. When he dropped them off at home he asked them to please pray for him. I thought that was so sweet and I know they have been praying fervently that God would help him with whatever the issue is.
Our city has so many newly arrived members of the Islamic community these days. I hope we can continue to learn more about them and their culture and beliefs. It is so much easier to learn it straight from those who are actually from that culture than to simply read about it in books. What a wonderful opportunity for us.
We will try to relax tomorrow before a very busy rest of the week.
My husband did a wonderful presentation in his Adult Sunday School class on prayer in the Psalms. We talked about prayers of confession (confession meaning agreeing with God on our need for repentence and agreeing with him on his forgiveness of us) and we talked about how we can learn different postures of prayer than simply folding our hands and closing our eyes (kneeling, prostrating ourselves, lifting hands, looking upward). I am looking forward to his last two classes of the term and wondering what nifty new things I am going to learn in each of them.
The minister's sermon really challenged us to take better advantage of our opportunities to grow relationships with our Muslim friends and we felt sad all over again that the only Muslim friends we had here moved to Vancouver!
After the service there was a lunch to fundraise for the seminary in Lebanon...the only middle Eastern country that allows Muslims who have converted, to study Christianity. We ate a lunch of incredibly delicious lentil soup, pitas and fresh fruit while we watched the president of that seminary via video link. It was great to be able to ask him questions about the school, its student body and about his country. Several members of our church are going there in a couple of weeks to visit the seminary and learn more about Lebanon. Wish my husband and I were going to be among them.
When we got home my husband got a call from the younger brother of our Muslim friends who moved to Vancouver. He wanted to come over and also bring his wife to visit with me while he and my husband worked on a plan for a new business he is building. We had the most lovely time together talking and laughing. As it is Ramadan for another 10 days or so, we didn't even have to make tea or snacks for our guests...an odd feeling for me....hahaha. We exchanged contact information and will be in touch again sometime in the next few weeks. YAY!! They brought me the most beautiful orchid. NOW IF I CAN JUST NOT KILL THE POOR THING! It is a lovely white orchid with 6 blooms and I am so impressed to have such a gorgeous plant in my home. I have to give it 3 ice cubes once a week and other than that just leave the poor thing alone in the proper light conditions! Should be easy peasy....hey, I have had my small succulent for a full year and it is still growing and healthy looking, AND I have not killed the tomato plant yet. Maybe I am getting better with this whole living plant thing! Stranger things have happened....I think....
My parents had a lovely Muslim man as their cab driver on their errands yesterday. My father is even more "not shy" than I am and asked him many questions about Ramadan and its practises and they talked about how Christians and Muslims are starting to have more dialogue in Canada. When he dropped them off at home he asked them to please pray for him. I thought that was so sweet and I know they have been praying fervently that God would help him with whatever the issue is.
Our city has so many newly arrived members of the Islamic community these days. I hope we can continue to learn more about them and their culture and beliefs. It is so much easier to learn it straight from those who are actually from that culture than to simply read about it in books. What a wonderful opportunity for us.
We will try to relax tomorrow before a very busy rest of the week.
Saturday, May 25, 2019
End of Pity Party!
It is amazing what a morning of mindless video games and a warm bath, followed by a chicken sandwich on cheesy onion bread and 90 minutes of ironing with my new iron that actually works fantastically well, can do to restore my equilibrium! I told God I would stop complaining and whining and fussing if he would give me a bit of help to cheer up, so he must have because life seems quite fine again.
Upcoming this week is the joy of singing in the church choir followed by a Lebanese lunch sponsored by the members of my congregation who are travelling soon to our seminary in Lebanon. I have a hair appointment scheduled that is guaranteed to lift my spirits, then the doctor appointment to get my hip X-ray requisition and from there....whatever.
In about an hour there should be thunderstorms and I pray they will carry rain with them. Yesterday’s thunderstorms near the huge forest fire at High Level contained nary a drop. It is desperately dry here too, so here’s hoping.
I suspect a few of you must have prayed for me today because everything is back to normal and my upset is over. Hallelujah!
Upcoming this week is the joy of singing in the church choir followed by a Lebanese lunch sponsored by the members of my congregation who are travelling soon to our seminary in Lebanon. I have a hair appointment scheduled that is guaranteed to lift my spirits, then the doctor appointment to get my hip X-ray requisition and from there....whatever.
In about an hour there should be thunderstorms and I pray they will carry rain with them. Yesterday’s thunderstorms near the huge forest fire at High Level contained nary a drop. It is desperately dry here too, so here’s hoping.
I suspect a few of you must have prayed for me today because everything is back to normal and my upset is over. Hallelujah!
Warning: Pity Party Ahead!
If reading the details of other peoples' personal pity parties doesn't float your boat, stop reading now and wait for the next post! Today I am feeling sorry for myself and don't feel particularly apologetic for it. Compared to Kat, Val and so many others I have requested prayers for, my problems are teeny weeny, but today is not a good day and confession is good for the soul, even if I end up confessing only to myself and God.
I was nearly immobile when I woke up this morning and needed my cane to get the heck out of bed. Whatever this problem is with my hip, it is getting worse apparently. Sigh..... The upset started when I realized there is no way I can attend the seminar I signed up for today. I have been looking forward to it since it was announced in February. Fortunately my husband can still attend and will bring me the handouts and then give me the gist of the lecture, but I so wanted to go myself! However, even with my ergonomic seat cushion, sitting for the better part of 6 hours, knowing that if I have to stand up and sit down and stand up and sit down is doing to be distracting for the other participants, means it isn't a good idea. It was difficult last time I went to a seminar in the same location, took my pillow, was having no hip problems at the time, but still had to stand up for part of the day. It did bother some of the others there as I moved around trying not to block anyone else's view of the speaker and PowerPoint presentation.
Today I feel weepy....like I am in danger of bursting into excessive sobbing at any moment. This is an unlikely event, me not being a crier even when it is appropriate, but the stress of wondering if I will burst into tears for no apparent reason in the middle of a public seminar is too much to take today! I had forgotten how weepy chronic pain makes me some days. Yikes!! I feel like I am a fountain set to overflow at any time now. The knowledge that it probably won't happen, whether I go out in public or stay home, is not an assurance that it won't. Ergo...time to remain at home.
I suppose a full day at home alone to brood and pray and cry if necessary is a gift in a way. While I have adjusted quite happily to having my husband at home so much of the time now, having a full day to just feel however I happen to feel....BADLY in this case...is kind of relaxing, a joy all its very own.
So, off he will go in a couple of minutes and I will be gloriously alone to cry, scream, rant and rave, be eerily silent, pray, laugh....whatever happens in the instant. Perhaps I do need a day like this more than I need a seminar on how to read and interpret the violence depicted in the Book of Joshua.....perhaps a seminar on Holy War and Old Testament oral culture as it relates to the portrayal of violence in relationship to God's judgement is best left for a less weepy day! Hmmmmm....ya' think?? hahaha
I was nearly immobile when I woke up this morning and needed my cane to get the heck out of bed. Whatever this problem is with my hip, it is getting worse apparently. Sigh..... The upset started when I realized there is no way I can attend the seminar I signed up for today. I have been looking forward to it since it was announced in February. Fortunately my husband can still attend and will bring me the handouts and then give me the gist of the lecture, but I so wanted to go myself! However, even with my ergonomic seat cushion, sitting for the better part of 6 hours, knowing that if I have to stand up and sit down and stand up and sit down is doing to be distracting for the other participants, means it isn't a good idea. It was difficult last time I went to a seminar in the same location, took my pillow, was having no hip problems at the time, but still had to stand up for part of the day. It did bother some of the others there as I moved around trying not to block anyone else's view of the speaker and PowerPoint presentation.
Today I feel weepy....like I am in danger of bursting into excessive sobbing at any moment. This is an unlikely event, me not being a crier even when it is appropriate, but the stress of wondering if I will burst into tears for no apparent reason in the middle of a public seminar is too much to take today! I had forgotten how weepy chronic pain makes me some days. Yikes!! I feel like I am a fountain set to overflow at any time now. The knowledge that it probably won't happen, whether I go out in public or stay home, is not an assurance that it won't. Ergo...time to remain at home.
I suppose a full day at home alone to brood and pray and cry if necessary is a gift in a way. While I have adjusted quite happily to having my husband at home so much of the time now, having a full day to just feel however I happen to feel....BADLY in this case...is kind of relaxing, a joy all its very own.
So, off he will go in a couple of minutes and I will be gloriously alone to cry, scream, rant and rave, be eerily silent, pray, laugh....whatever happens in the instant. Perhaps I do need a day like this more than I need a seminar on how to read and interpret the violence depicted in the Book of Joshua.....perhaps a seminar on Holy War and Old Testament oral culture as it relates to the portrayal of violence in relationship to God's judgement is best left for a less weepy day! Hmmmmm....ya' think?? hahaha
Friday, May 24, 2019
Almost Book of Job-like!
I was managing the stairs well this afternoon, toting laundry up and down, when the phone rang. It was Kat. Yet another emergency issue for her and on the same day that Val had a most necessary medical appointment herself. Of course the two of them ended up scheduled for their appointments at separate clinics at the same time of day. Off I tore to get Val. I have never seen anyone, except perhaps my father, in THAT much pain trying to stay upright, keep walking and standing with assistance, get in and out of the vehicle....gasping and groaning with every movement. AND YET the cheeriest little bee on the planet...except for Kat of course. UNREAL~I know I could never cope that well with such crippling pain for so many months in a row. My admiration for Val has grown again by leaps and bounds. I am excited that she has managed to get an appointment with a second orthopedic surgeon who may have a shorter waiting list than the one she is currently assigned to. PRAYING, PRAYING, PRAYING!
O Lord, may they, like Job, have all that they have lost restored to them and in even greater measure. Continue to pour out your abundant mercy upon them. I thank you for what you will do. Amen!
I decided to push the envelope a bit myself today. After I took Val home I went to the gasoline station and filled the vehicle, then took a tour through the adjacent grocery store for some small items. That inflamed muscle in my butt is very, very sore, but it isn't unbearable today. Only a few times have I lost my breath for a few seconds from stabbing pain, so I am grateful for that. Watching Val inch her way, stabbing pain by stabbing pain, off the car seat and back onto the sidewalk to go into her house has taught me just how much pain I may need to be prepared to endure before my own journey resolves....yikes, and God bless her for her amazingly positive attitude! May I be that trusting and confident in the Lord too!!
O Lord, may they, like Job, have all that they have lost restored to them and in even greater measure. Continue to pour out your abundant mercy upon them. I thank you for what you will do. Amen!
I decided to push the envelope a bit myself today. After I took Val home I went to the gasoline station and filled the vehicle, then took a tour through the adjacent grocery store for some small items. That inflamed muscle in my butt is very, very sore, but it isn't unbearable today. Only a few times have I lost my breath for a few seconds from stabbing pain, so I am grateful for that. Watching Val inch her way, stabbing pain by stabbing pain, off the car seat and back onto the sidewalk to go into her house has taught me just how much pain I may need to be prepared to endure before my own journey resolves....yikes, and God bless her for her amazingly positive attitude! May I be that trusting and confident in the Lord too!!
Then and Now
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| The Son THEN |
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| The son NOW |
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| The Husband THEN |
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| The Husband NOW |
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| Me THEN (1967/8) |
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| Me NOW |
What a hoot I am having looking at all these rather poor quality photos and laughing my head off. Some of you in the family will no doubt remember these times and images with great glee! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Starting the Process
This morning I had an excellent conversation with the office administrator at my bone surgeon's office. She was most helpful in explaining the procedure I need to start on to get some help for my hip. So, next week I have an appointment with my beloved GP to get an x-ray requisition. When she gets the results she will send them on to the surgeon to look at. If either she or he feel there is indeed something going on that is more significant than atrophying or inflamed muscle tissue, then the surgeon will see me as soon as he can, likely in July....not a bad wait time for this city, that is for sure.
I am feeling so much better now that I have the process underway. I am so grateful that the surgeon's office administrator didn't just brush me off, or treat me like the village idiot for having to ask what the expected procedure is with getting the x-rays and help. Instead of being terse and rushed, she seemed more than happy to talk to me about what has been going on. Since she is manning one of the busiest surgeon's offices in the city, I appreciate her calm, helpful attitude that much more.
Well, now it is a waiting game and a time to continue with my prayers. I will reduce my physio exercises to once a day, weekends off, until I get the x-ray results. I truly hope that there is nothing wrong that more physio will not eventually fix. I can't face even the idea of another surgery right now.
HOWEVER, isn't it fantastic that we are not under the stress of having to race off to the other diocese where my husband was offered a job, entering the fray of having to bid with other hopeful tenants and schmooze with real estate agents and rental companies to find an affordable place to live, all the while wondering if we are even going to be able to do it around some kind of possible required surgery for me. WOW! We are both incredibly relieved at how things are working out and we thank God for making the way forward for now so plain to understand.
Hallelujah!! Thanks for your prayers my friends and family. Bless you for understanding how much stress we have had in our lives over the past 18 months that is finally being resolved. While we haven't been all that conscious of it most of that time, it has been there and has effected us negatively in some ways. It is nice to be able to exhale about at least a few things.
What wonderful weather we have been having this week. Daytime highs in the low +20C's and overnight lows up to about +5C...the perfect spring weather for my husband and I. Today I officially shut the furnace off for the rest of the spring and summer....can hardly believe it has taken until May 24 to feel confident enough in spring's arrival to do that! Many of the trees are greening up and leafing out at last, the ornamental flowering trees are gorgeous this week and I do hope we don't get a fast and furious wind anytime soon to blow all the blooms onto the ground. June and early July are truly the most lovely times on the Saskatchewan prairies. The green is as deep and luscious as it ever gets here and I hope we can get outside more and enjoy it. Hopefully my husband will take a few less volunteer meetings and teaching assignments very soon, so we can spend our time doing more things together.
I am feeling so much better now that I have the process underway. I am so grateful that the surgeon's office administrator didn't just brush me off, or treat me like the village idiot for having to ask what the expected procedure is with getting the x-rays and help. Instead of being terse and rushed, she seemed more than happy to talk to me about what has been going on. Since she is manning one of the busiest surgeon's offices in the city, I appreciate her calm, helpful attitude that much more.
Well, now it is a waiting game and a time to continue with my prayers. I will reduce my physio exercises to once a day, weekends off, until I get the x-ray results. I truly hope that there is nothing wrong that more physio will not eventually fix. I can't face even the idea of another surgery right now.
HOWEVER, isn't it fantastic that we are not under the stress of having to race off to the other diocese where my husband was offered a job, entering the fray of having to bid with other hopeful tenants and schmooze with real estate agents and rental companies to find an affordable place to live, all the while wondering if we are even going to be able to do it around some kind of possible required surgery for me. WOW! We are both incredibly relieved at how things are working out and we thank God for making the way forward for now so plain to understand.
Hallelujah!! Thanks for your prayers my friends and family. Bless you for understanding how much stress we have had in our lives over the past 18 months that is finally being resolved. While we haven't been all that conscious of it most of that time, it has been there and has effected us negatively in some ways. It is nice to be able to exhale about at least a few things.
What wonderful weather we have been having this week. Daytime highs in the low +20C's and overnight lows up to about +5C...the perfect spring weather for my husband and I. Today I officially shut the furnace off for the rest of the spring and summer....can hardly believe it has taken until May 24 to feel confident enough in spring's arrival to do that! Many of the trees are greening up and leafing out at last, the ornamental flowering trees are gorgeous this week and I do hope we don't get a fast and furious wind anytime soon to blow all the blooms onto the ground. June and early July are truly the most lovely times on the Saskatchewan prairies. The green is as deep and luscious as it ever gets here and I hope we can get outside more and enjoy it. Hopefully my husband will take a few less volunteer meetings and teaching assignments very soon, so we can spend our time doing more things together.
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Sing, Sing a Song!
Tonight was our final church choir rehearsal before the summer break. We will sing for the next 4 Sunday morning services; anthems we have sung previously, by request. Next week is our wind up choir party, which should be a lot of fun. I just wish it wasn't pot luck so that my husband and I would have fewer issues to contend with in regard to what we can safely eat for the dinner. Anyway, whatever, it will be fun to see the other spouses and socialize with some folk we don't normally have much chance to see outside of church.
Kat is doing pretty well, for those of you asking for a report. She is exhausted of course, but apparently a friend was taking her shopping today for bedding out plants. She is a gardener, that is for sure. I think it will be at least another couple of weeks before she learns the result of her cancer staging and what is going to happen for treatment. Her absence from the soprano section tonight was quite noticeable! Hurry back Kat!
My husband and I went to the Achievers Luncheon at church today. It was a fantastic meal prepared by one of the church chefs and we had a good speaker telling us about his life and spiritual journey. As we suspected, we were about the two youngest in the group, but what a great chance to start to get to know some more of the older seniors in the congregation. We really enjoyed it.
Well, my poor old hip is just not improving at all. Over the past couple of weeks I have rested it completely for several days with no sign of improvement, now I have had a week of intense physiotherapy exercises with no real improvement either. Since I don't want to exercise my way into possible worse damage to the poor old bones, I am calling the surgeon tomorrow to see how soon I can get an x-ray to check this out and try to find the source of the pain. Hopefully it will be in less than 2 years' time. He is THAT busy! All the orthopedic surgeons here are backed up for months and months and months. That is part of the problem for Val getting an OR date here. If she is classed as an emergency and has been kept waiting more than a year, what hope do I have of getting any help, right? SO, that is a prayer request for BOTH of us! Thank you so much.
Tomorrow my husband is attending a funeral. I can admit to being just a tad selfish because I am kind of glad I do not know the person who died, nor the family and can avoid going and having to sit on the hard wooden pews in the church where it is being held. Sitting at all on any surface, even the most delightfully padded chairs, doesn't feel very good after about a half hour.
I think I will attempt to do the laundry instead. I can still do the stairs pretty well if I take my time. It is a long time between loads, so I won't have to do many trips in a short space of time. I can take all day to do a few loads of laundry if I have to.
I am wondering if I am going to have to miss the seminar on The Book of Joshua on Saturday. Not certain I can handle sitting on the chairs there. I remember now difficult it was for me to sit on them at the March seminar, and I wasn't having any hip issues then. I will pray about it between now and then and try to do what is best.
Our son has been very ill for the past few days, but today he is almost himself again and got another painting completed. He is using his tempera paint now and painting on birch boards. I like the painting, but would love to see him create a few more spaces in the lighter colours. He is enjoying painting tesselations and even sent me an adult colouring book of tesselated patterns so I could "share" the fun with him. hahahahaha How cute is that, right?
Kat is doing pretty well, for those of you asking for a report. She is exhausted of course, but apparently a friend was taking her shopping today for bedding out plants. She is a gardener, that is for sure. I think it will be at least another couple of weeks before she learns the result of her cancer staging and what is going to happen for treatment. Her absence from the soprano section tonight was quite noticeable! Hurry back Kat!
My husband and I went to the Achievers Luncheon at church today. It was a fantastic meal prepared by one of the church chefs and we had a good speaker telling us about his life and spiritual journey. As we suspected, we were about the two youngest in the group, but what a great chance to start to get to know some more of the older seniors in the congregation. We really enjoyed it.
Well, my poor old hip is just not improving at all. Over the past couple of weeks I have rested it completely for several days with no sign of improvement, now I have had a week of intense physiotherapy exercises with no real improvement either. Since I don't want to exercise my way into possible worse damage to the poor old bones, I am calling the surgeon tomorrow to see how soon I can get an x-ray to check this out and try to find the source of the pain. Hopefully it will be in less than 2 years' time. He is THAT busy! All the orthopedic surgeons here are backed up for months and months and months. That is part of the problem for Val getting an OR date here. If she is classed as an emergency and has been kept waiting more than a year, what hope do I have of getting any help, right? SO, that is a prayer request for BOTH of us! Thank you so much.
Tomorrow my husband is attending a funeral. I can admit to being just a tad selfish because I am kind of glad I do not know the person who died, nor the family and can avoid going and having to sit on the hard wooden pews in the church where it is being held. Sitting at all on any surface, even the most delightfully padded chairs, doesn't feel very good after about a half hour.
I think I will attempt to do the laundry instead. I can still do the stairs pretty well if I take my time. It is a long time between loads, so I won't have to do many trips in a short space of time. I can take all day to do a few loads of laundry if I have to.
I am wondering if I am going to have to miss the seminar on The Book of Joshua on Saturday. Not certain I can handle sitting on the chairs there. I remember now difficult it was for me to sit on them at the March seminar, and I wasn't having any hip issues then. I will pray about it between now and then and try to do what is best.
Our son has been very ill for the past few days, but today he is almost himself again and got another painting completed. He is using his tempera paint now and painting on birch boards. I like the painting, but would love to see him create a few more spaces in the lighter colours. He is enjoying painting tesselations and even sent me an adult colouring book of tesselated patterns so I could "share" the fun with him. hahahahaha How cute is that, right?
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
My Family
Amazing what I am finding in my husband's photo files...all manner of things I don't remember ever seeing before. Case in point: these photos of my family!
One And DONE! AKA The Sheen On My Face Is Not Just Perspiration.....
....it is JOY!! I completed my third set of reps after dinner tonight with at least a modicum of success, certainly I saw a positive change in ability since my first two dismal attempts today. The JOY comes from all the effort I put into ending my final session of the day by attempting the BRIDGE once again. So thrilled that tonight my leg was strong enough to lift my butt and back at least an inch off the floor ALL TEN TIMES! This morning it was 0 for 10, after lunch it was 3 for 10 and tonight...well, what a wonderful change. This crazy physio routine is helping all ready and I can hardly believe it. I will see how sore and stiff I am when I wake up tomorrow morning, but I have hope for better things very soon. Hallelujah!
Many thanks to Pen from Vancouver Island and Pat from Moose Jaw who telephoned me today and were so encouraging and fun to talk to. No matter how down any of the three of us get about anything, there are always laughs to be found before the converstations end. Thank you friends.
Prayer request for my son: he emailed me a few minutes ago to let me know he is very, very ill....either food poisoning again or a bad case of the 'flu'. It means he will likely miss going to an off Broadway play tomorrow evening that he was all set to enjoy with a new lady in his life. Sigh.... THE GOOD NEWS is that he managed to drag himself off to a 1.5 hour job today! He is just like his father...deathly ill and still forcing himself to go to work! Unreal! How do they do that? I do understand the incentive though: for his 90 minutes he received a full day's pay at a time when rent is coming due and he desperately needs it. He is alternately thanking God and barfing in a pail! Poor guy! Please pray that he can soon fight through whatever exactly he is suffering from and be healed and whole again. Thank you so much faithful prayer people. I am so glad he has housemates who can be of assistance if he needs it during such times.
Tomorrow morning I am going to head off to the bank, either by car or bus and do all the chores I had been planning to do today but wimped out on due to exhaustion and pain. Physio always restores my mental energy first, even before the physical strength returns. I love physio exercises. So grateful, SO grateful for the marvellous physiotherapist, now friend, who helped me get into this mode of recovery.
Many thanks to Pen from Vancouver Island and Pat from Moose Jaw who telephoned me today and were so encouraging and fun to talk to. No matter how down any of the three of us get about anything, there are always laughs to be found before the converstations end. Thank you friends.
Prayer request for my son: he emailed me a few minutes ago to let me know he is very, very ill....either food poisoning again or a bad case of the 'flu'. It means he will likely miss going to an off Broadway play tomorrow evening that he was all set to enjoy with a new lady in his life. Sigh.... THE GOOD NEWS is that he managed to drag himself off to a 1.5 hour job today! He is just like his father...deathly ill and still forcing himself to go to work! Unreal! How do they do that? I do understand the incentive though: for his 90 minutes he received a full day's pay at a time when rent is coming due and he desperately needs it. He is alternately thanking God and barfing in a pail! Poor guy! Please pray that he can soon fight through whatever exactly he is suffering from and be healed and whole again. Thank you so much faithful prayer people. I am so glad he has housemates who can be of assistance if he needs it during such times.
Tomorrow morning I am going to head off to the bank, either by car or bus and do all the chores I had been planning to do today but wimped out on due to exhaustion and pain. Physio always restores my mental energy first, even before the physical strength returns. I love physio exercises. So grateful, SO grateful for the marvellous physiotherapist, now friend, who helped me get into this mode of recovery.
Two Down, One To Go!
I decided to perk myself up today by starting in on the complete physio exercise grouping that was my last recovery set from March 2016. Ooooowwwweeeeee.....oooowww.... Obviously I have a lot of work to do to get my leg back in to the same condition it was in last autumn and the two years previous to that! In the process I did locate the offending group of atrophying muscles: who knew butt muscles are as important as they apparently are?????!!! hahaha
I could not remotely succeed in completing the final exercise called the bridge, which consists of lying flat on my back with my arms flat on the floor beside me, my sore leg bent up at the knee and my good leg flat out in front of me. The idea is to raise my good leg straight up on the air from the hip, then put enough weight on the sole of my bad foot to lift and arch my back right off the floor, all my weight balanced on my bad foot and shoulders. As you can imagine, it did not go well! haha
I couldn't figure out why I had SO little strength in the bad leg until I knelt to stand up afterward. The good leg had a nice little muscle bulge in the butt cheek above it, just like it should. The other cheek not only did not have the happy little muscle bulge, it had a soft hollow spot where those tight muscles should been and used to be! Aaaaarrrgh! No wonder all my walking two weeks ago set me up for all this pain. I went from winter inertia straight to taking long walks with no physio strengthening beforehand!
How dumb can I be? Sigh..... I know better than to do such a stupid thing, and yet......aiiii yiiiii....
Well, it is a lesson I am unlikely to forget after next winter!
I could not remotely succeed in completing the final exercise called the bridge, which consists of lying flat on my back with my arms flat on the floor beside me, my sore leg bent up at the knee and my good leg flat out in front of me. The idea is to raise my good leg straight up on the air from the hip, then put enough weight on the sole of my bad foot to lift and arch my back right off the floor, all my weight balanced on my bad foot and shoulders. As you can imagine, it did not go well! haha
I couldn't figure out why I had SO little strength in the bad leg until I knelt to stand up afterward. The good leg had a nice little muscle bulge in the butt cheek above it, just like it should. The other cheek not only did not have the happy little muscle bulge, it had a soft hollow spot where those tight muscles should been and used to be! Aaaaarrrgh! No wonder all my walking two weeks ago set me up for all this pain. I went from winter inertia straight to taking long walks with no physio strengthening beforehand!
How dumb can I be? Sigh..... I know better than to do such a stupid thing, and yet......aiiii yiiiii....
Well, it is a lesson I am unlikely to forget after next winter!
Yawn.....
This dumb hip pain is wearing me down. I started doing my old physio exercises this morning as I discovered part of the problem yesterday is some muscle atrophy after a too sedentary winter. I think next winter I will be forced to become one of the dreaded senior citizen indoor mall walkers in order to keep my stride lengthened over the winter months. The walks around and around our suite all winter require shorter step spans and were not helpful this year. If two weeks of physio doesn't help, or if the pain gets worse I will have to call the surgeon for an x-ray to check the hardware and bone. O please God, may the physio help and not exacerbate some other problem, but after noticing the bit of atrophy it is not surprising that a week of longer walks in different shoes with no time spent stretching those muscles again has caused a pain problem.
This morning I felt a bit discouraged to be honest. It is sunny and warm outside and I managed the physio not too badly, but o my....I feel tired today. My next birthday is looming and although I will be "only" 65, I feel like Methusaleh today! Watching my mornings disintegrating into a truly Old Age pattern of activities is a mite depressing today: by the time I haul myself out of bed, spend a full hour preparing a diabetic friendly breakfast along with slurp down all the necessary daily vitamins, supplements and other meds, complete my vision and oral treatments, then add in at least 30 minutes of physio before getting showered and properly dressed, I am not ready to get about my daily chores for a good two hours most days. Sigh..... (I am underlining "today" because I know that if I feel even a tad less tired tomorrow then life will be wonderful again! hahaha Do I know me??? Yup, I sure do!)
No wonder elderly people do nothing but go to medical appointments. By the time they are ready to go there is no energy left to do much else after they get home again!!! I am teetering on the edge of that particular cliff and it hasn't bothered me much at all....until today when I feel so tired. Today it all seems like far too much work to have to bother with.
Sure am glad I am not THIS tired very often!! hahaha It makes the good visit I had with my friend yesterday, a time of us encouraging each other, that much more special. When and if I ever lose my enthusiasm for seeing friends I will know indeed that the end is near!! hahahaha While I was with my friend, my husband was busy taking another friend to a medical appointment. It gave him a chance to sit and read a book he has been wanting to get into for some time, while he was waiting on the appointment to be over, no interruptions, no phone calls or me badgering him about something.
We finally got to watch the round one knockout Deontay Wilder fight that I recorded over the weekend. The undercard fights were also interesting, to say the least. For awhile during the winter, it seemed as if every fight we watched was so one sided as to be monotonous for the viewing audience. Not these fights! Lots of action, even though some of it was short lived.
This afternoon I am going to crawl myself out to the vehicle and go pay some utility bills. I am looking forward to the fresh air, even though I will have to drive to the bank and back. That sunshine is pretty tempting, as is the double digit high temperature, even to the tired old woman I feel I am today. hahaha
This morning I felt a bit discouraged to be honest. It is sunny and warm outside and I managed the physio not too badly, but o my....I feel tired today. My next birthday is looming and although I will be "only" 65, I feel like Methusaleh today! Watching my mornings disintegrating into a truly Old Age pattern of activities is a mite depressing today: by the time I haul myself out of bed, spend a full hour preparing a diabetic friendly breakfast along with slurp down all the necessary daily vitamins, supplements and other meds, complete my vision and oral treatments, then add in at least 30 minutes of physio before getting showered and properly dressed, I am not ready to get about my daily chores for a good two hours most days. Sigh..... (I am underlining "today" because I know that if I feel even a tad less tired tomorrow then life will be wonderful again! hahaha Do I know me??? Yup, I sure do!)
No wonder elderly people do nothing but go to medical appointments. By the time they are ready to go there is no energy left to do much else after they get home again!!! I am teetering on the edge of that particular cliff and it hasn't bothered me much at all....until today when I feel so tired. Today it all seems like far too much work to have to bother with.
Sure am glad I am not THIS tired very often!! hahaha It makes the good visit I had with my friend yesterday, a time of us encouraging each other, that much more special. When and if I ever lose my enthusiasm for seeing friends I will know indeed that the end is near!! hahahaha While I was with my friend, my husband was busy taking another friend to a medical appointment. It gave him a chance to sit and read a book he has been wanting to get into for some time, while he was waiting on the appointment to be over, no interruptions, no phone calls or me badgering him about something.
We finally got to watch the round one knockout Deontay Wilder fight that I recorded over the weekend. The undercard fights were also interesting, to say the least. For awhile during the winter, it seemed as if every fight we watched was so one sided as to be monotonous for the viewing audience. Not these fights! Lots of action, even though some of it was short lived.
This afternoon I am going to crawl myself out to the vehicle and go pay some utility bills. I am looking forward to the fresh air, even though I will have to drive to the bank and back. That sunshine is pretty tempting, as is the double digit high temperature, even to the tired old woman I feel I am today. hahaha
Sunday, May 19, 2019
A Sad Weekend For Our Son
Our son is having a difficult weekend emotionally. He has experienced the suicide of a friend for the first time. It only happened a couple of days ago and he and his community are still reeling from the shock. She was married to another good friend who no one has been able to contact since the death of his wife....another worry.
Adding another layer of emotion for our son is the similarity of their relationship to his former relationship with his ex, who struggles with a form of mental illness that nearly destroyed them both a few years ago.
We feel for our son because his dad and I have also lost close friends to suicide. It never gets any easier to comprehend the level of emotional pain that drives them to take their own lives.
I am so happy for the present media spotlight on mental health issues. If taking this group of diseases out of hiding, removing the social stigma for sufferers, results in more people getting help and in saving lives, well thank the Lord!
Sunshine and Wind and Other Good Things!
I do love Sundays. Church was particuarly exciting today because a 79 year old woman was ordained to the ministry after a long wait and many years of unofficial pastoral care to so many. What fun. She sat through the entire service just beaming from ear to ear. One of the ministers from her former church denomination came down, drove for nearly 5 hours from a town where we used to have a congregation, to be there for her. What a treat for her, AND for us to renew the aquaintance. There were so many visitors today that came just for her ordination and I hope our own congregation made them very welcome.
There is going to be a Newcomers' Dinner in a couple of weeks' time at First Baptist. I am chuckling about it because when our invitation was delivered this morning, the lady who issued it told us that the diaconate is hoping that we can make some of the other newcomers feel welcome. hahaha This is the first attempt at such a dinner by the diaconate and they are feeling a tad overwhelmed, so want some assistance in welcoming the other newcomers. Guess our former pastoral positions are still good for something in our new context. hahahahaha What fun!! I love her honesty in admitting that although we are newcomers only technically, after being involved for over a year, they still want us to be there....to help them with the actual welcome as they will have their heads and hands full of food related items. hahahahaha We are really enjoying all these changes the church is trying to make to incorporate newcomers and get to know them better. They are trying very hard to support the new growth vision of the church and we think it is all great stuff.
My husband and I finally got to our usual Sunday brunch spot at 1:30pm. So glad there was cake in the church coffee room after the service so I didn't pass out from hunger, but my husband was having the time of his life visiting with his former colleague that I mentioned earlier. I didn't want to rush him.
Now it is nearly 3pm. I have just made some happy plans for tomorrow morning with my walking partner, who is being very understanding that I may not make it too far around the lake with this crazy hip issue, whatever it may be.
Yesterday was very good too. I rested my hip until about 3pm, by which time I was sick to death of reading a novel and watching tv, so I got showered and dressed and we went over to pick up the tomato plant from our friend the gardener extraordinaire. Unfortunately we are likely going to have to keep it on the back deck with only the early sunrise to noon time sunshine, as out in the front with the wonderful late afternoon sun there is no way to protect it from the rabbits, geese and neighbourhood thieves. O well...here's hoping for the near miracle it will take for the poor plant to produce any tomatoes under the less than perfect light/heat conditions.
After a quick dinner we headed over to visit a couple who have just returned from an interesting vacation on the west coast. We are so thrilled they have returned and we had a lot of fun chattering away together. We missed them. They were gone by the time we returned from Alberta so it has been several weeks since our last opportunity to get together.
Ooooh, life has been so good the past few months and I feel so undeserving for so many reasons. I am grateful that God has apparently not felt that way. I feel so loved by my heavenly father.
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AND remember my friend (who knows who he is and does not need to be named): even if I have to have another hip surgery, I am still grateful for and blessed by the goodness of God, so don't worry okay? The presence of pain does not indicate the absence of God nor of his love.
There is going to be a Newcomers' Dinner in a couple of weeks' time at First Baptist. I am chuckling about it because when our invitation was delivered this morning, the lady who issued it told us that the diaconate is hoping that we can make some of the other newcomers feel welcome. hahaha This is the first attempt at such a dinner by the diaconate and they are feeling a tad overwhelmed, so want some assistance in welcoming the other newcomers. Guess our former pastoral positions are still good for something in our new context. hahahahaha What fun!! I love her honesty in admitting that although we are newcomers only technically, after being involved for over a year, they still want us to be there....to help them with the actual welcome as they will have their heads and hands full of food related items. hahahahaha We are really enjoying all these changes the church is trying to make to incorporate newcomers and get to know them better. They are trying very hard to support the new growth vision of the church and we think it is all great stuff.
My husband and I finally got to our usual Sunday brunch spot at 1:30pm. So glad there was cake in the church coffee room after the service so I didn't pass out from hunger, but my husband was having the time of his life visiting with his former colleague that I mentioned earlier. I didn't want to rush him.
Now it is nearly 3pm. I have just made some happy plans for tomorrow morning with my walking partner, who is being very understanding that I may not make it too far around the lake with this crazy hip issue, whatever it may be.
Yesterday was very good too. I rested my hip until about 3pm, by which time I was sick to death of reading a novel and watching tv, so I got showered and dressed and we went over to pick up the tomato plant from our friend the gardener extraordinaire. Unfortunately we are likely going to have to keep it on the back deck with only the early sunrise to noon time sunshine, as out in the front with the wonderful late afternoon sun there is no way to protect it from the rabbits, geese and neighbourhood thieves. O well...here's hoping for the near miracle it will take for the poor plant to produce any tomatoes under the less than perfect light/heat conditions.
After a quick dinner we headed over to visit a couple who have just returned from an interesting vacation on the west coast. We are so thrilled they have returned and we had a lot of fun chattering away together. We missed them. They were gone by the time we returned from Alberta so it has been several weeks since our last opportunity to get together.
Ooooh, life has been so good the past few months and I feel so undeserving for so many reasons. I am grateful that God has apparently not felt that way. I feel so loved by my heavenly father.
-------------------------------------------------------
AND remember my friend (who knows who he is and does not need to be named): even if I have to have another hip surgery, I am still grateful for and blessed by the goodness of God, so don't worry okay? The presence of pain does not indicate the absence of God nor of his love.
Friday, May 17, 2019
The Has Beens Go To Has Beans!
My husband had an excellent time with his colleague over lunch today. As soon as he returned home we decided to test my footwear theory and walked over to the hospital in my best winter walking shoes in order to visit Kat. My hip behaved itself rather well, but as soon as I took the shoes off at home and started walking across the floor without them, before I could get my orthopedic "slippers" on, the pain became intense. Sigh....my husband wants me to wear those shoes for the rest of the long weekend, even inside the house, in order to test out the theory. If that makes no difference to my pain and discomfort, I will have to make the dreaded medical appointment to find out what is really going on. Sigh again.....
ANYWAY: KAT!
Kat had another visitor when we arrived, a mutual friend who is very empathetic and also a medical staffer, so we spent only a short time with them. We took turns praying for Kat, who was having a pain spike post-IV pain meds removal. Apparently her surgeon took out all visible signs of the cancer, none of the possible, even probable, complications arose during the surgery, several members of Kat's cancer support group had all ready been in to see her and bring her post-surgical recovery information and Kat looked amazingly healthy. I have NEVER looked that fresh and lovely after any sort of surgery. Good for her!! Her biggest worry this afternoon was how her roommate was faring back at home with her own debilitating pain while she STILL waits for a hip replacement date! Aiiii yiiiii....Lord, what the....????? Why is she STILL waiting??? To relieve Kat's mind, we walked back home, packed up a plate of dinner for the roommate and drove over there to make a quick checkup on her. I am sure we disturbed her and probably caused some upset because she had to fight her way out of bed to answer the door, but Kat was very relieved that the dear woman was mobile enough to accomplish that. She was relieved that Kat was doing so well as there was no way she could manage to get to the hospital to see her. So, pastoral visiting accomplished, my husband decided we needed to go out to a new place for dinner and give me a chance to relax my aching hip away from home for a change. Bless him!
We went to a new cafe on Albert, in where The Nest used to be: Has Beans. It is a bar/coffee bar/pub grub cafe now and we didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be very nice. The music was bordering on too loud for us, BUT it really was quite tolerable most of the time. The service was good, there is a lot of variety on the menu and we were able to score a table with big, comfy, old fashioned padded chairs that were perfect for my sore leg.
My husband ordered the Four Yorkies snack: 4 rather dense, but tasty, mini (pretend) Yorkshire puddings stuffed with delicious brisket and sauteed onions and peppers, with a side of pineapple BBQ dip. He didn't care for the dip, but the meal itself was quite delicious. The Yorkies were nothing like Yorkshire pudding, but it seems many people here have no idea what real Yorkshire pudding is supposed to be like. haha Whatever the little doughy cups were, they tasted good and were very filling. Since it was under the snack column it was less than nine dollars!
I ordered the All Day Breakfast of bacon and eggs for six dollars and fifty cents. It was absolutely delicious!! There seems to be quite a competition among many Regina restaurants these days to offer all day breakfasts at low prices and each new kitchen I order from is producing a better attempt than the one before. Yummy! My two eggs over easy were huge things and cooked just right, there were just enough tater tots to keep me from feeling guilty about consuming too many allowed carbohydrates and I was therefore able to eat part of one of the two slices of whole wheat Texas toast with two of the three huge, HUGE, thick cut slices of bacon that were cooked perfectly...no limp, soggy, nauseating, barely cooked fat hanging off the ends! The menu said there were four slices and I only got three.....ooooh, poor widdle me stuck with only three slices that were enough to make up a meal completely on their own. hahaha I actually gave my husband one of them plus the rest of my toast as a supplement to his dinner and we were both very happy. Our meal and drinks came to twenty-seven dollars before taxes and tip.
We suspect the trick to avoiding booming music and excess noise in there is to arrive by 4:30pm as we did on this long weekend Friday. The restaurant was busy, but not completely full and the music, as I mentioned, was tolerable for volume. The voices around us were not overly loud because people didn't have to scream at each other to compete with the music. That is always a good thing!!
After dinner we watched the season finale of the Black List and enjoyed it, nonsense and all. hahahaha I get such a kick out of it. It has more loose threads, unfinished plot lines and loop holes than any good police drama should have, but we love the acting and the humour placed in all the right places in the script. Of course it had quite a cliff hanger to keep us tantalized enough to watch the next part of the series when it returns in the autumn.
This afternoon my husband was able to track down a pay cheque from a church service he did months ago. It was sent to the wrong address, so on Sunday morning after church he will be able to go and pick it up. Since he all ready claimed the income on his EI report quite some time ago, we are both relieved it has been found. MORE GOOD NEWS, right?
WOW....what a day!
ANYWAY: KAT!
Kat had another visitor when we arrived, a mutual friend who is very empathetic and also a medical staffer, so we spent only a short time with them. We took turns praying for Kat, who was having a pain spike post-IV pain meds removal. Apparently her surgeon took out all visible signs of the cancer, none of the possible, even probable, complications arose during the surgery, several members of Kat's cancer support group had all ready been in to see her and bring her post-surgical recovery information and Kat looked amazingly healthy. I have NEVER looked that fresh and lovely after any sort of surgery. Good for her!! Her biggest worry this afternoon was how her roommate was faring back at home with her own debilitating pain while she STILL waits for a hip replacement date! Aiiii yiiiii....Lord, what the....????? Why is she STILL waiting??? To relieve Kat's mind, we walked back home, packed up a plate of dinner for the roommate and drove over there to make a quick checkup on her. I am sure we disturbed her and probably caused some upset because she had to fight her way out of bed to answer the door, but Kat was very relieved that the dear woman was mobile enough to accomplish that. She was relieved that Kat was doing so well as there was no way she could manage to get to the hospital to see her. So, pastoral visiting accomplished, my husband decided we needed to go out to a new place for dinner and give me a chance to relax my aching hip away from home for a change. Bless him!
We went to a new cafe on Albert, in where The Nest used to be: Has Beans. It is a bar/coffee bar/pub grub cafe now and we didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be very nice. The music was bordering on too loud for us, BUT it really was quite tolerable most of the time. The service was good, there is a lot of variety on the menu and we were able to score a table with big, comfy, old fashioned padded chairs that were perfect for my sore leg.
My husband ordered the Four Yorkies snack: 4 rather dense, but tasty, mini (pretend) Yorkshire puddings stuffed with delicious brisket and sauteed onions and peppers, with a side of pineapple BBQ dip. He didn't care for the dip, but the meal itself was quite delicious. The Yorkies were nothing like Yorkshire pudding, but it seems many people here have no idea what real Yorkshire pudding is supposed to be like. haha Whatever the little doughy cups were, they tasted good and were very filling. Since it was under the snack column it was less than nine dollars!
I ordered the All Day Breakfast of bacon and eggs for six dollars and fifty cents. It was absolutely delicious!! There seems to be quite a competition among many Regina restaurants these days to offer all day breakfasts at low prices and each new kitchen I order from is producing a better attempt than the one before. Yummy! My two eggs over easy were huge things and cooked just right, there were just enough tater tots to keep me from feeling guilty about consuming too many allowed carbohydrates and I was therefore able to eat part of one of the two slices of whole wheat Texas toast with two of the three huge, HUGE, thick cut slices of bacon that were cooked perfectly...no limp, soggy, nauseating, barely cooked fat hanging off the ends! The menu said there were four slices and I only got three.....ooooh, poor widdle me stuck with only three slices that were enough to make up a meal completely on their own. hahaha I actually gave my husband one of them plus the rest of my toast as a supplement to his dinner and we were both very happy. Our meal and drinks came to twenty-seven dollars before taxes and tip.
We suspect the trick to avoiding booming music and excess noise in there is to arrive by 4:30pm as we did on this long weekend Friday. The restaurant was busy, but not completely full and the music, as I mentioned, was tolerable for volume. The voices around us were not overly loud because people didn't have to scream at each other to compete with the music. That is always a good thing!!
After dinner we watched the season finale of the Black List and enjoyed it, nonsense and all. hahahaha I get such a kick out of it. It has more loose threads, unfinished plot lines and loop holes than any good police drama should have, but we love the acting and the humour placed in all the right places in the script. Of course it had quite a cliff hanger to keep us tantalized enough to watch the next part of the series when it returns in the autumn.
This afternoon my husband was able to track down a pay cheque from a church service he did months ago. It was sent to the wrong address, so on Sunday morning after church he will be able to go and pick it up. Since he all ready claimed the income on his EI report quite some time ago, we are both relieved it has been found. MORE GOOD NEWS, right?
WOW....what a day!
Ta Ta BBT!! Thanks For All The Laughter and Sillyness Over the Years!
I thoroughly enjoyed the series finale of The Big Bang Theory last evening. Unlike the final programme of some other long running series in times past, the writers for BBT stayed true to the script themes and the personalities of the characters. It was funny, gentle, and I didn't feel ripped off, because nothing weird or confusing happened to anyone in the show. I felt as a viewer that the characters will continue going about their lives as I remember them, with nothing out of the ordinary going on right at the end to make me feel cheated. Unlike the series ending of Seinfeld, or The Sopranos for example, I wasn't left at the end feeling like, "What the heck just happened????" and then being left with no resolution to the weird situation the characters found themselves in immediately prior to disappearing from my tv screen forever.
I am going to miss this crazy, sweet programme and it is going to take a long time I suspect to find a comedy show I will enjoy as much, as it is one of only two that I have watched for the past several years. It has been fun to relax with BBT after Thursday evening choir rehearsals and I will be sorry not to have that any more.
I am going to miss this crazy, sweet programme and it is going to take a long time I suspect to find a comedy show I will enjoy as much, as it is one of only two that I have watched for the past several years. It has been fun to relax with BBT after Thursday evening choir rehearsals and I will be sorry not to have that any more.
Almost Too Much Good News To Handle In One Day!
It has been a great morning around here: my husband got invited out for lunch by a fellow clergy he really likes to spend time mentoring, I got a TON of PC points awarded on my grocery shop this morning and I got to the store really early so that I wouldn't have to fight the long weekend crowds, we got a call back from the rental management company here and after talking to my husband, we were awarded another twenty-five dollar a month rent credit, bringing us up to one hundred and seventy-five dollars a month in savings...quite a great reason to stay put and not have the hassle and expense of moving across the city.
AND BEST NEWS OF ALL:
Kat not only survived her cancer surgery yesterday but she is ready to party and wants as many friends as possible to stop in for short visits today! She will likely be sent home tomorrow, so we are going to try to walk over to the hospital this afternoon for a quick visit just to say hello and have a quick prayer together.
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The not quite as good news for me this week is that my "bad" hip is giving me supreme grief. I suspect the switchover from winter to summer footwear is causing the problem, as it does every spring. O my...this is the worst pain yet and it is constant, making walking rather difficult if I don't move my leg just the right way to avoid that grabbing flash of pain that causes me to wince and even yip out loud sometimes. So, today I am going to switch over to my winter shoes and see if going for a short walk in those, rather than my summer sandals, will make a significant difference. I may have to take two or three short walks before I know how this is going to play out. If it doesn't work I am going to have to get an x-ray and make sure there isn't a problem with the hardware. O Dear Lord, PLEASE save me from having to have yet another surgery less than 4 years after the last one. I don't feel like I can deal with it just now. So...here's hoping the footwear is all that is responsible. I will haul out my muscle and tendon strengthening exercises tomorrow if I don't get any relief today with the other shoes and start doing them again to see if that helps. Aaargh...I hate all this bone breaking crapola...what a nuisance for me and what a hassle for my husband to have to care for me everytime I have one of these fracture repairs. Oh well, things could be MUCH worse and I am glad they are not! Amen!
AND BEST NEWS OF ALL:
Kat not only survived her cancer surgery yesterday but she is ready to party and wants as many friends as possible to stop in for short visits today! She will likely be sent home tomorrow, so we are going to try to walk over to the hospital this afternoon for a quick visit just to say hello and have a quick prayer together.
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The not quite as good news for me this week is that my "bad" hip is giving me supreme grief. I suspect the switchover from winter to summer footwear is causing the problem, as it does every spring. O my...this is the worst pain yet and it is constant, making walking rather difficult if I don't move my leg just the right way to avoid that grabbing flash of pain that causes me to wince and even yip out loud sometimes. So, today I am going to switch over to my winter shoes and see if going for a short walk in those, rather than my summer sandals, will make a significant difference. I may have to take two or three short walks before I know how this is going to play out. If it doesn't work I am going to have to get an x-ray and make sure there isn't a problem with the hardware. O Dear Lord, PLEASE save me from having to have yet another surgery less than 4 years after the last one. I don't feel like I can deal with it just now. So...here's hoping the footwear is all that is responsible. I will haul out my muscle and tendon strengthening exercises tomorrow if I don't get any relief today with the other shoes and start doing them again to see if that helps. Aaargh...I hate all this bone breaking crapola...what a nuisance for me and what a hassle for my husband to have to care for me everytime I have one of these fracture repairs. Oh well, things could be MUCH worse and I am glad they are not! Amen!
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Little Old Vine Grower Me!
Thanks to the gardening enthusiasm of a new friend who is a gardener extraordinaire, I am about to embark on a project of my own to hopefully grow a pot of cherry tomatoes! She has put the pot together for me, has planted the tomatoes and has set my husband up with all sorts of good ideas for how to make the best use of the tiny space I have here to grow the plant outside, as far as what to construct to best protect the plants from the geese and rabbits! Aiii yiiii....growing tomatoes, fending off wildlife...what on earth is happening to me???? hahahaha I can only hope and pray this is a successful project as I suspect if it fails my friend will be even more disappointed than I will be. O my.......... Plants terrify me...at least, caring for them does....what have I agreed to? What have I done????? hahahaha
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Thought For the Day
“A child’s shoulders are not built to carry the weight of their parents’ choices.”
Amen!
Amen!
A Bit Of Good News For Our Son
We just received an ecstatic text from our son that he got the summer job he applied for some time ago. He was just home from his interview and giddy with excitement. That means that he will have, between this summer position and his return to work for the month of June with his former employer, work for 3 consecutive months! YAY and AMEN!!
He will be working for the Carol Bove studio. She is a metal sculptor and I had a peek at some of her works. They are large and industrial and brightly coloured. I quite like them. Her husband is also an artist and philospher, so I am hoping our son will be able to spend a bit of time with them personally during his employment as they would be so interesting to talk to.
Be that as it may, the good news is that he has found some work in his field that will still allow him time to continue working with his own new medium.
To quote our son, "God is good and life is good!" He is greatly encouraged today and thanks all of you who said you would pray for work for him.
He will be working for the Carol Bove studio. She is a metal sculptor and I had a peek at some of her works. They are large and industrial and brightly coloured. I quite like them. Her husband is also an artist and philospher, so I am hoping our son will be able to spend a bit of time with them personally during his employment as they would be so interesting to talk to.
Be that as it may, the good news is that he has found some work in his field that will still allow him time to continue working with his own new medium.
To quote our son, "God is good and life is good!" He is greatly encouraged today and thanks all of you who said you would pray for work for him.
Rain, rain, happy day! 👏🏻
I enjoyed running my errands in the rain this morning! Although it left me with a mud spotted car, I enjoyed the spring odours of freshly mown lawns and pruned trees. Even the occasional whiff of lawn and garden fertilizer was encouraging to me. We have had two very warm days and have been able to open the windows in this suite for the first time in months to get fresh air. How lovely!
The day time temperatures will be dropping by a full ten to twelve degrees in a couple of days and it won’t warm up again for awhile, but this tantalizing taste of spring weather has been wonderful. I am still suspicious that we will have one more dump of snow this spring, but usually if that happens there is a rapid warm up immediately afterward.
Today I drove past a fully blooming May day tree: the first of the season for me. It is an older tree, twenty feet tall, branches spreading in all directions and covered with balls of teeny white flowers. Gorgeous! It was visually shocking in the midst of a stand of other trees with yet no visible signs of new leaves or even leaf buds. What a treat to see it.
I purchased a new iron this morning. The old one would have likely lasted another few years if I had not dropped it on its nose....twice in quick succession. The automatic steam has not worked since those drops a year or more ago, but I kept using it, probably flirting with electrocuting myself all that time. I read an article online yesterday that frightened me into getting the new iron. Mom sent me money for my upcoming birthday so the iron is my birthday gift. Yay!
Now it is nearly time for lunch. For tonight’s dinner I am tempted to kill one of the geese that is presently stomping about on the roof and squawking loudly at the dozen other poopy geese who have shown up here today. Uncle Harry up on the roof, as well as our resident couple, are freaking out about their territory being invaded. Guess I will be outside later this afternoon prior to our dinner company’s arrival to scoop up the evidence of today’s goosey guests! Sigh....
This afternoon I will be skinning chickens for grilling, making salsa and guacamole, soaking brown rice and deciding what hot veggies to serve tonight. Two sets of dinner guests in one week: it is fun making up for lost time. Our dining room table and chairs need replacing and my husband wants to get a bigger table so we can have more people over at one time. Maybe after the car repairs are done?
Aaaargh....that reminds me I forgot to make the repair appointment for next week! Better go do that immediately!
Enjoy your day everyone!
The day time temperatures will be dropping by a full ten to twelve degrees in a couple of days and it won’t warm up again for awhile, but this tantalizing taste of spring weather has been wonderful. I am still suspicious that we will have one more dump of snow this spring, but usually if that happens there is a rapid warm up immediately afterward.
Today I drove past a fully blooming May day tree: the first of the season for me. It is an older tree, twenty feet tall, branches spreading in all directions and covered with balls of teeny white flowers. Gorgeous! It was visually shocking in the midst of a stand of other trees with yet no visible signs of new leaves or even leaf buds. What a treat to see it.
I purchased a new iron this morning. The old one would have likely lasted another few years if I had not dropped it on its nose....twice in quick succession. The automatic steam has not worked since those drops a year or more ago, but I kept using it, probably flirting with electrocuting myself all that time. I read an article online yesterday that frightened me into getting the new iron. Mom sent me money for my upcoming birthday so the iron is my birthday gift. Yay!
Now it is nearly time for lunch. For tonight’s dinner I am tempted to kill one of the geese that is presently stomping about on the roof and squawking loudly at the dozen other poopy geese who have shown up here today. Uncle Harry up on the roof, as well as our resident couple, are freaking out about their territory being invaded. Guess I will be outside later this afternoon prior to our dinner company’s arrival to scoop up the evidence of today’s goosey guests! Sigh....
This afternoon I will be skinning chickens for grilling, making salsa and guacamole, soaking brown rice and deciding what hot veggies to serve tonight. Two sets of dinner guests in one week: it is fun making up for lost time. Our dining room table and chairs need replacing and my husband wants to get a bigger table so we can have more people over at one time. Maybe after the car repairs are done?
Aaaargh....that reminds me I forgot to make the repair appointment for next week! Better go do that immediately!
Enjoy your day everyone!
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Hellzapoppin’...Lord, I Was Born An AMBLIN’ Man!
Things heated up around our complex late yesterday afternoon....literally heated up! Someone started a fire in the big disposal bin out in the parking lot and by the time my husband looked out and noticed it the flames were leaping high into the air! WOW! Not sure he would have noticed it, but yesterday was the first day it was warm enough to open the windows in our suite and shortly after we did, we could both smell smoke.
The fire department was dutifully informed and eventually four firefighters made their way here with a giant sized fire truck. They quickly exhausted the water supply in the truck, but since it did little to put out the giant sheet of flames in the bin, they then had to find the closest fire hydrant.
What a procedure.
After they ran out of water initially, two of the fire fighters ambled out of the parking lot down the street to see where the nearest hydrant they could hook up to was located. While they were gone....an inordinate amount of time it seemed, as the nearest hydrant was only 50 yards down the street....the other two stood around talking and yawning and shooing kids away from the quickly blackening, paint peeling bin. Finally the first two returned, but certainly not "on the run". They wandered back as slowly as they had wandered off to find the hydrant. They climbed into the fire truck and backed it out again from the parking lot at snail's pace, due to a curve in the narrow street and a lot of cars parked along both sides, disappearing entirely from view. The other two fire fighters continued chatting and giggling about something while all we tenants stood on our decks wondering when on earth this fire was going to be put out and would we have to flee before that truck returned. Finally it came back with the long hose attached to the truck and the hydrant down the street. We all cheered and the two fire fighters who had been giggling and looking around everywhere but at the burning bin, looked quite startled. hahaha
The hose was dragged from the side of the truck facing the fire around to the other side and hooked up high over the top of the truck cab. We waited and waited and waited while the flames burned ever higher. About the time those flames became bored with peeling the paint off the outside, as well as the inside of the bin and starting boring holes right through the metal, the water began spurting out of the hose at last....all over the ground beside the bin, but not into it. It seemed to take forever for that hose to be respositioned and by this time we were fearing for the office building and the nearest complex of suites, but eventually the water began landing in the actual bin. The water pressure didn't look very high, but after a rather long time and an awful lot of water, the fire went out. The time between the calling in of the fire, to the arrival of the fire department, to the fire actually being put out was about 45 minutes. I am thankful the bin was only half full when the fire started. Had it been as full with old carpeting and cabinets from suite renovations as it had been 2 days previously we would all have had to watch for burning bits flying through the air and landing on our shingled rooves and wooden decks. It could have been quite a disaster.
I wonder how many dozens of garbage container fires the department has to put out in this city every week. There are so many businesses and rental units that have huge open bins sitting close to their buildings. The wide grassy strip certainly saved the one complex this time from being too close to the escaping, flaming, papers that flew out of the bin. The guys were so ho hum about it that it must indicate they are fed up with these sorts of fires.
Today the bin is still sitting there. The reno people have filled it to the brim with old carpeting and cabinets ripped out of one of the newly vacated units. I can only pray the person who set the bin on fire yesterday does not return for a second performance! The bin is barely hanging together today. We are guessing one of the garbage pickers who smoke the entire time they are in the bin doing their sorting, dropped a cigarette into the pile of garbage and left, not knowing a fire was about to break out.
Well, a little excitement around the old place to liven things up...... I wish I had a video of the firefighters ambling about the place and fiddling forever with the positioning of the hose. As my husband said, the poor guys had so much equipment to worry about for such a relatively small fire that he himself could have probably put it out with a garden hose had he rushed out with one as soon as he saw the flames. hahahaha All those heavy uniforms and hats and hoses and awkward trucks that have to be backed up so slowly...craziness. By the time all the hydrants and hoses were hooked up and the hose properly positioned the fire had grown to a much more dangerous point. We have a fire fighter in our family now and wish he had been there to see it so he could have explained to us what was going on.
Good times.......hohoho!!
In other news: Kat's cancer surgery is FINALLY happening Thursday morning. FINALLY! I have been so ticked off at the way things have been happening with her case, but that is because she is my friend and my emotions prevent me from being completely rational about it all. It hasn't helped any that another new and very close friend is being subjected to some unexpected renal testing and it isn't looking all that good at the moment for her kidneys. Sigh.....have we made all these new friends only to lose them to this vicious disease??? Please no Lord, please no, for their own sakes and the sake of their
families......
My husband was talking with his bishop today. Things are looking somewhat possible for a half time position here for about 1 year starting in the fall. I am hoping this will be possible. It would be just the right amount of work for my husband to handle and leave him free to continue doing the other fulfilling volunteer ministries he is enjoying these days. It would definitely mean we can stay here in our little suite of the good location and the church isn't that far away for him to work at. Here's hoping.........
The fire department was dutifully informed and eventually four firefighters made their way here with a giant sized fire truck. They quickly exhausted the water supply in the truck, but since it did little to put out the giant sheet of flames in the bin, they then had to find the closest fire hydrant.
What a procedure.
After they ran out of water initially, two of the fire fighters ambled out of the parking lot down the street to see where the nearest hydrant they could hook up to was located. While they were gone....an inordinate amount of time it seemed, as the nearest hydrant was only 50 yards down the street....the other two stood around talking and yawning and shooing kids away from the quickly blackening, paint peeling bin. Finally the first two returned, but certainly not "on the run". They wandered back as slowly as they had wandered off to find the hydrant. They climbed into the fire truck and backed it out again from the parking lot at snail's pace, due to a curve in the narrow street and a lot of cars parked along both sides, disappearing entirely from view. The other two fire fighters continued chatting and giggling about something while all we tenants stood on our decks wondering when on earth this fire was going to be put out and would we have to flee before that truck returned. Finally it came back with the long hose attached to the truck and the hydrant down the street. We all cheered and the two fire fighters who had been giggling and looking around everywhere but at the burning bin, looked quite startled. hahaha
The hose was dragged from the side of the truck facing the fire around to the other side and hooked up high over the top of the truck cab. We waited and waited and waited while the flames burned ever higher. About the time those flames became bored with peeling the paint off the outside, as well as the inside of the bin and starting boring holes right through the metal, the water began spurting out of the hose at last....all over the ground beside the bin, but not into it. It seemed to take forever for that hose to be respositioned and by this time we were fearing for the office building and the nearest complex of suites, but eventually the water began landing in the actual bin. The water pressure didn't look very high, but after a rather long time and an awful lot of water, the fire went out. The time between the calling in of the fire, to the arrival of the fire department, to the fire actually being put out was about 45 minutes. I am thankful the bin was only half full when the fire started. Had it been as full with old carpeting and cabinets from suite renovations as it had been 2 days previously we would all have had to watch for burning bits flying through the air and landing on our shingled rooves and wooden decks. It could have been quite a disaster.
I wonder how many dozens of garbage container fires the department has to put out in this city every week. There are so many businesses and rental units that have huge open bins sitting close to their buildings. The wide grassy strip certainly saved the one complex this time from being too close to the escaping, flaming, papers that flew out of the bin. The guys were so ho hum about it that it must indicate they are fed up with these sorts of fires.
Today the bin is still sitting there. The reno people have filled it to the brim with old carpeting and cabinets ripped out of one of the newly vacated units. I can only pray the person who set the bin on fire yesterday does not return for a second performance! The bin is barely hanging together today. We are guessing one of the garbage pickers who smoke the entire time they are in the bin doing their sorting, dropped a cigarette into the pile of garbage and left, not knowing a fire was about to break out.
Well, a little excitement around the old place to liven things up...... I wish I had a video of the firefighters ambling about the place and fiddling forever with the positioning of the hose. As my husband said, the poor guys had so much equipment to worry about for such a relatively small fire that he himself could have probably put it out with a garden hose had he rushed out with one as soon as he saw the flames. hahahaha All those heavy uniforms and hats and hoses and awkward trucks that have to be backed up so slowly...craziness. By the time all the hydrants and hoses were hooked up and the hose properly positioned the fire had grown to a much more dangerous point. We have a fire fighter in our family now and wish he had been there to see it so he could have explained to us what was going on.
Good times.......hohoho!!
In other news: Kat's cancer surgery is FINALLY happening Thursday morning. FINALLY! I have been so ticked off at the way things have been happening with her case, but that is because she is my friend and my emotions prevent me from being completely rational about it all. It hasn't helped any that another new and very close friend is being subjected to some unexpected renal testing and it isn't looking all that good at the moment for her kidneys. Sigh.....have we made all these new friends only to lose them to this vicious disease??? Please no Lord, please no, for their own sakes and the sake of their
families......
My husband was talking with his bishop today. Things are looking somewhat possible for a half time position here for about 1 year starting in the fall. I am hoping this will be possible. It would be just the right amount of work for my husband to handle and leave him free to continue doing the other fulfilling volunteer ministries he is enjoying these days. It would definitely mean we can stay here in our little suite of the good location and the church isn't that far away for him to work at. Here's hoping.........
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